What to take: Kia Seltos or Geely Coolray

The news of February-March, which I would like to discuss today. Kia Seltos and Geely Coolray. At the end there will be a poll, let's see who votes for which car.

Let's start with the sizes. Both cars play in the Hyundai Creta and Renault Kaptur classes. Korean is a little bigger. The Seltos has a wheelbase of 2630 mm and a length of 4370 mm, while the Coolray has 2600 and 4330 mm, respectively. The difference is insignificant.

Let's talk about design now. This is a subjective matter, but I still allow myself to speculate. In my opinion, Geely is brighter. Especially in a sports body kit with the letter S. However, from the outside, Kia Seltos is not a blunder.

Inside, Geely also looks and feels richer. Kia's design itself is an example of an ordinary car with an interior like everyone else's to please the whole world. Yes, good, yes ergonomic, but ordinary, gray. Geely has a more interesting design. More color, more contrast, more facets.

Finishing materials are also different and not in favor of the Korean. Geely Coolray is, of course, not premium, but certainly not a state employee. Seltos, of course, is also not Crete, but it falls short of Geely. The rest is difficult to assess during short test drives.

Now let's talk about such important characteristics as ground clearance and trunk volume. Geely indicates the value of the minimum (with load) ground clearance at the level of 194 mm (strange, but 180 mm is indicated on the Belarusian site). I can't say right now whether this is really the lowest point, or the clearance under the crankcase (with or without protection?), But nevertheless. Seltos has a passport clearance of 185 mm. And it's like no load. Trunks can be estimated from photographs: Kia has just plastic and no pockets, Culray has a little better. The numbers are again on the side of the Chinese: 450 liters versus 433.

Now about the motors. Seltos is sold with three engines 1.6 (121 or 123 hp), 2.0 (150 hp), 1.6 turbo (177 hp). Paired with the first is a classic automatic or mechanic, with the second variator or mechanic, with the third only a robot with two clutches. Each motor has a modification with all-wheel drive.

The Geely Coolray has only had one engine lately – a 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder from Volvo. In China and Belarus, it produces the same 177 hp as the Seltos, but recently it has been derated to 150 hp. for a favorable tax. The only pair is a robotic 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The car does not have all-wheel drive.

If we take 150-strong versions of the same power, then I don’t even know which is worse. Kia has obvious problems with the CVT. Mikhail Kuldyaev talked about this in his blog (link at the end). Well, in general, we all know what a variator is and that they rarely go more than 150 thousand kilometers. No one knows how long a Chinese robot walks.

In terms of consumption (in mixed mode), Geely looks better. The Seltos have 6.8 l / 100 km, the Coolrey have 6.6. At the same time, the Chinese car also wins in acceleration to 100 km / h. Seltos accelerates to 100 km / h in 9.6 seconds according to the passport. There are no exact figures for the 150-horsepower version of the Gelly Coolray, but the 177-horsepower version makes a hundred in 7.9 seconds, and judging by the fact that the derated version has the same torque (255 Nm versus 180 for the Celtos), the dynamics state modification will not be much worse.

There are no exact prices for Culray yet, they will be closer to March 27, but I would be guided by the Belarusian price tag of 1.2-1.3 million. I admit that it may be more expensive, but the price tag will definitely not go off scale for 1.5 million. In the top, the Chinese will have a 10.25-inch multimedia system with 6 speakers, digital tidy, all-LED optics, a DVR built into the front camera, an all-round viewing system, an electronic handbrake, seats with a combined finish, a blind spot monitoring system, a car park, climate, panoramic roof, keyless entry and start with a button, winter package, 6 airbags, power seats, a lot of electronic assistants.

Seltos with 2.0 CVT and front-wheel drive can be bought with a maximum of pre-maximum configuration for 1,520,000 conditional units (this is already more expensive than Culray, and also Kia dealers, because of the hype, will probably add 100-150 thousand extras). The equipment is not poor, but there will be no car parking, all-round visibility, digital tidy, panoramic roof and some other things.